The Darkest Night
by Neemers
Summary: What happens the next time Forge messes with Kurts teleporting abilities?
1. 1

The Darkest Night  
  
By Neemers  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.  
  
Five seconds ago:  
  
Kurt felt his head pounding. The sound of sirens was everywhere,  
  
held against a distant backdrop of gunshots. He was too sick to move or even get his eyes to open, so he listened with his other senses. It felt like he had 'ported way, way too far. He could smell gunsmoke, greasy takeout, and a few unidentifiable things that made his stomach feel even worse than before. He realized it was night, not so much by the lack of light against his closed eyelids as by the sense of absolute darkness surrounding him. He reached out with his night senses, searching for something familiar. He found nothing and something felt...off about what he did sense, like the time he walked a little too close to that electromagnet on that science field trip. Not a pleasant feeling. No big deal considering what he had to deal with growing up in a superstitious part of Germany.  
  
He was starting to feel less queasy and all he had to do was call the Institute's toll-free number for a pick-up. He could hide in the darkness and he should be able to move well enough to reach a phone in a few minutes. There were a few men that were running toward him, but he was confident that he would not be seen in the darkness.  
  
"Demon!" one of the men shouted, and he heard a gun cock. That's it. He was dead. How did he get into this mess?  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Three hours ago:  
  
Kurt was walking into the Institute's front foyer when he was stopped by a unique greeting.  
  
"Kurt! My man! How's the grooviest dude on the planet doing?"  
  
[Note to self: Learn who's been teaching Forge modern slang now that Evan's gone and introduce them to the more creative uses of toilet paper. His slang is even weirder now that it spans the decades.]  
  
Please, Please, Please let him not ask about another teleportation experiment. Those lizard things still give me the creeps.  
  
"I was looking through my specs on your porting abilities and-"  
  
"No."  
  
"No?"  
  
"No. Last time your experiment nearly killed me. I never want to see those lizard things again."  
  
"You won't"  
  
I know I'm going to regret this. "Was?"  
  
"You won't. All you need is a power pack to give you a bigger push. Same nearly instantaneous 'port, but longer distances."  
  
[I was going to walk away. I was going to say something I would later regret and walk away.]  
  
"Okay"  
  
[I was right about the regret part. Why did I just say that?]  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Ten minutes ago:  
  
Forge was finishing up with a few last wires when the door opened and Kurt walked in with his backpack stuffed to the max. Forge asked' "Kurt, what are you doing with that?"  
  
"After last time do you honestly expect me to go in unprepated? I'm taking the necessities: food, water, spare clothes, spare holowatch, comics..."  
  
"Comics?"  
  
"Ja, what do you expect me to do if i end up getting stuck in a  
  
universe full of nasal teachers?"  
  
"...Okay...Now just strap this to your front and your ready to go."  
  
Kurt strapped on Forge's device, strapped on his backpack, made sure both were secure, and 'ported. Something was off. He felt himself stretched and felt something else snap into the 'prt with him. Something big, with long sharp claws, greasy blond hair, and the scent of a predator/scavenger. It reeked of hatred and anger at something it called "The Runt." His screams could be heard long after he was gone.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
The Present:  
  
"Demon!" one of the men shouted, and he heard a gun cock. That's it. He was dead. How did he get into this mess? Gunshots rang out, but they weren't aimed at him. Kurt had been shot at enough times to know the difference. He finally managed to pry his eyes open and looked to see what the men were shooting at. He saw...Batman? Okay, now he knew he was dreaming. He had to be dreaming. Batman was just a comic book character. He felt himself safe for the moment. He realized that at the angle he was laying at there was very little chance that either Batman or the gunmen would notice him, so he decided to enjoy the show.  
  
He heard someone land behind him and spun, feeling the world spin with him. He saw a figure in a short yellow cape, green elf boots and a domino mask. Robin. Then he felt the blackness he had been fighting whirl in around him and nearly passed out. He hear voices, as if from a great distance:  
  
"Robin, report"  
  
"It's Nightcrawler! It's really him, but he's just a character on a cartoon show!"  
  
"..."  
  
"We have to help him."  
  
"..."  
  
"we have to help him. You know what would happen if someone else found him. A cage or worse. We have to help him, take him back to the cave. With all the lockdowns you have on it he couldn't get out."  
  
"...get him in the Batmobile."  
  
Kurt felt himself lifted, and then darkness overtook him for good.  
  
When Kurt woke up he found himself on a cot in a cave, with two sandwiches next to him. His backpack and Forge's device were gone,but there was nothing he could do about that now. Food now. Questions later.  
  
He finished eating, then wandered into the central portion of the cave. He found Batman in front of a giant computer. Kurt walked over to where Batman was brooding. His head was still a little fuzzy after his experience so he chose what may have been the worst possible thing to say.  
  
"Bruce, Where's Alfred? I hear he makes the best chocolate chip cookies. Do you think he'd make some for me? Is Dick around? Oh, is that the Batmobile? Can I drive it? What..."  
  
It was at this point that Kurt noticed the glare that Batman was giving him. The one that had been known to make hardened criminals wet their pants. Little wonder that it made Kurt trail off, even in his less that perfect state of mind.  
  
Kurt's brain finally kicked into gear. He had told Batman, who was not exactly known for being the gentlest person on the planet, that he knew who he and his family were. He had freely asked a man he had just met that night if he could use some of the equipment that he was known for being fanatically protective of. He was dead meat. 


	2. 2

Batman stepped closer, and Kurt really, really wished he had the energy left to port out of there. Then a rather unpleasant thought occurred to him. This was real life, not comic books. What if Batman really did kill?  
  
It was at this point that a brightly clad figure descended from somewhere overhead and stepped between Batman and Kurt. Robin.  
  
"Didn't you hear what I just told you tonight? He's Nightcrawler, from the TV show. He doesn't belong in this dimension." Batman stopped and his glower lowered slightly, from wet-your-pants scary to collapse-in-a- quivering-heap scary. Kurt considered the fact that he might come through the night in one piece. Batman obviously had a strong attachment to and respect for Robin.  
  
Batman answered, "That doesn't explain how he knew who we are."  
  
"Comic books." Kurt squeaked. Uh-oh. That glare just went up to wet-your- pants-right-before-he-guts-you scary. Obviously not the right answer.  
  
"WHAT!?!" Batman roared.  
  
"Comic books." Kurt answered again, fighting the urge to run for his life. He was in an enclosed area. It seemed like Robin was on his side. Better to stay by Robin. "In my world, you're comic book characters. I've even got a few in my backpack. If you get it I'll show you." Now was not the time to mention that he knew who everyone else was too.  
  
"Robin" Batman called, never letting his glare at Kurt waver in the slightest. Obediently Robin moved off. Kurt thought he was dead. He was SO dead. Robin returned a moment later carrying Kurt's backpack. OK, maybe he wasn't dead. Kurt opened it up and retrieved one of the Batman comics. Better to leave the JLA comics put for the moment. He carried it up to Batman who took the book, perused it for a moment, then looked as if he was considering not killing Kurt.  
  
A glance between Batman and Robin seemed to be all the communication they needed. Batman moved off to a different area of the cave while Robin took up a I'm-gonna-guard-you-because- Batman-told-me-to-and-I'm-gonna-do-a-good-job-of-it-even-though-I-don't- think-your-dangerous stance. A few heartpounding minutes later, Batman returned.  
  
"There are compounds in this ink from plants that died out decades ago, yet the extracts are only a few months old. This was obviously a commercial printing job. It seems that this Nightcrawler is telling the truth." The glower was still present, but now lowered to an I-don't-quite-trust-you level.  
  
At this moment Alfred chose to make his appearance. "Master Bruce, Master Dick, breakfast will be ready soon. There are two extra place settings for our guests, and I suggest you take the time to clean yourself up now.  
  
"Guests?" Batman echoed, truing to hide his puzzlement.  
  
"Surely you remember that Master Wallace was to come to the Manor this Saturday. Now I suggest you make yourself presentable. Something in his tone told everyone who was really in charge at Wayne Manor.  
  
Batman and Robin obediently followed Alfred up the stone stairs,  
  
followed by Kurt with his backpack. Kurt had the feeling that he  
  
would still be getting the evil glower if Alfred had not  
  
interrupted. Kurt sidled a little closer to Robin and asked, "How did he know?" referring to Alfred's timely arrival.  
  
"He's Alfred. He knows everything," Robin, or rather Dick, replied with absolutely no trace of joking in his voice. He looked as if he wanted to ask something badly.  
  
"Well?" Kurt encouraged.  
  
"Can I have your autograph?"  
  
"Was?"  
  
"your autograph. How often do you think I get to meet cartoon  
  
characters come to life?"  
  
"Considering your life..."  
  
"Yeah, but still..."  
  
"...Let me get cleaned up first. What did I fall in, anyways?"  
  
"An open dumpster"  
  
"No wonder. It'll take me forever and a day to get the smell out of my fur."  
  
"No it won't. We've got this extra strong shampoo in the bathroom that should take that smell right out."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"If it worked last time we had to chase Croc [1] into the sewers, it'll work on you."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"This is so cool! You're my favorite character on the show. I've  
  
even got a Nightcrawler keychain on my backpack."  
  
"This is slightly freaky. But I guess I can't freak out too bad.  
  
You're my favorite character in the comics."  
  
"You're right. That is freaky. Better give you the heads up. Wally's an even bigger fan than me."  
  
"Think he'll actually eat at normal speed"  
  
"..."  
  
You're all in the comics. JLA, Titans, everyone."  
  
"Don't know."  
  
Just as Dick said, the shampoo worked like a charm, and he was soon  
  
ready for breakfast.  
  
[1] Killer Croc, a lizard-like mutant 


	3. 3

Kurt watched as Alfred walked to the door, reaching it an instant after the doorbell rang. How did he do that? In zipped a figure talking at a rate that would have Pietro trying to keep up.  
  
"thisissocoolRobbie(1)calledmeandsaidthatNightcrawler, youknow, thatcharacterfromtheTVshowisreallyrealandhe'sfromanother dimension, andhe'shereandhe'smyfavoritecharacter, myabsolute favoriteandcanImeethim, pleasepleaseplease,canImeethim, whereishe, doyathinkhe'dhelpmepullaprankonRoy, teleporting'gotta comeinrealusefulforstufflikethat, whereishe?"  
  
Considering the fact that Kurt couldn't make out enough of the conversation to even follow the general gist of it, it's little wonder that he tried to hide before Wally ran off screaming, but it is somewhat difficult to get out of sight in time in an unfamiliar place when one's energy reserves are too low to teleport and somebody is searching for you at hyperspeed. It's little wonder that Kurt was caught.  
  
[please don't scream. please don't scream. please don't scream.]  
  
Wally just stood still for about a nanosecond-literally-to consider all possible options. Then his motormouth was off again. "Thisissoooocool. Iwatchyourshowallthetimeandyou're myfavorite, butMomsaysIwatchtoomuchcartoonsandreadtoomanycomics, sosometimesIgottagetDonnatotapetheshowforme, andIbroughtthe tapesandmaybewecouldwatchthemlater, andI'mhungrywhatdid Alfredmakeforbreakfast? He'sthebestcookinthewholewideworld."  
  
[He's not freaking out. So far, so good, but....]  
  
"Was?"  
  
Dick had watched the whole encounter and answered for Wally. "He said he likes the TV show your life is in this world and asked what was for breakfast."  
  
"And whether or not you'd help me prank Roy," Wally added, finally slowing down enough to be understood by those less familiar with speedtalk.  
  
[Can you say noodlebomb?]  
  
Before Kurt could answer, Alfred called everyone to breakfast. Two minds wondered if he did that on purpose. The third one knew he did.  
  
Heavenly fragrances wafting from the kitchen put all further thought of practical jokes out of two young minds. For those living on a hypermetabolism, some things have higher priority in life. Everyone sat down and Kurt started making one of his infamous waffle sandwiches. (2)  
  
"A little syrup, little jam, eggs, bacon, oh, pickles would be  
  
good..."  
  
Kurt looked up to see everybody staring at him. Bruce and Dick were starting on their first waffles, while Wally, courtesy of  
  
hyperspeed, was on his fifth.  
  
[This is going to be a looong morning...waddaya know? Someone  
  
actually eats faster than me]  
  
Kurt's thought processes were interupted by Wally. "why didn't I ever think of that? Will someone pass the jelly and the pickles?"  
  
[I think I'm going to like this kid.]  
  
Breakfast continued on along the same line, with Bruce and Dick starting to look just a little disturbed by the creations on Kurt and Wally's plates. Soon breakfast was over and Wally remembered the other part of his speedtalk that Dick hadn't translated.  
  
"Hey Kurt? Remember us talking about how you're a cartoon character in our world? I've got tapes of it in my bag. Wanna see?"  
  
"Ja, just let me get my comic books, the ones that show you and  
  
Dick."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh, Dick didn't tell you? In my world you're comic book  
  
characters."  
  
(1) Robbie is the Titan's nickname for Robin.  
  
(2) 'Nutter's idea, not mine.  
  
_______________________________________________________________  
  
As always, feedback is more than welcome. 


	4. 4

A short reminder: [Kurt's thoughts]  
  
Soon Wally, Dick and Kurt were settled around the TV to watch the cartoon tapes. Soon what would be a very familiar song to us started playing.  
  
"Was ist das?"  
  
"The theme song." Dick replied.  
  
"Shhhhh! ThisisanewoneandIdon'twannamissanyofit."  
  
[Is it just me, or is it amusing to have a comic book characer who happens to love cartoons and comic books?]  
  
Kurt finally turned back to the TV and nearly exploded. I am not  
  
that shade of blue! Dilo ardijasi!(1)"  
  
"Tu mocel Romani?(2)" Dick queried.  
  
"Va.(3)"  
  
"Sal Romany?(4)"  
  
"Va. Sal?(5)"  
  
"Va."  
  
Wally managed to become curious enough about the conversation to ask (after pausing the TV), "What are you guys talking about?"  
  
Dick answered, "The TV show never said that Kurt was Romany. This is so cool!" Then he turned back to Kurt and asked, "Salahi cirkas de sa?(6)"  
  
"Va!"  
  
"English,please. It's killing me trying to figure out what you two are talking about."  
  
Dick answered Wally, "Sorry. But its not every day I find someone else who even speaks Romani. He was in the circus, too."  
  
"Ja, finest flyer (7) around."  
  
"No way! I was a flyer too. This is just getting too freaky. I've got a rig in the cave. Maybe we could go down there later. Bruce is acrobatic and everything, but he's no pro."  
  
"Sounds like a plan."  
  
*************************************************************  
  
(1) Idiot Editors!  
  
(2)You speak Romani?  
  
(3) Yes  
  
(4)Are you Romany?  
  
(5) Yes. Are you?  
  
(6)Were you a circus performer too?  
  
(7) trapezist  
  
Romani translations are from the Romlex online dictionary. I had to  
  
do it word by word, so the translations are probably at or below  
  
caveman level.  
  
My apologies to anyone who actually speaks Romani and had to try to  
  
wade through that.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________  
  
Wally asked, "Are you two finally done speaking in Romani?"  
  
Kurt got that big, wicked grin that you never want pointed in your direction. He asked, "Wie gut Sie Deutsches sprechen?"(1)  
  
"Gut genug, über seinem Kopf zu sprechen."(2) Dick Answered  
  
"Denken sie uns sollten?"(3)  
  
"Nein. Ther ist eine schwache Linie zwischen dem Necken und Folterung. Ich würde eher nicht diese Linie kreuzen."(4)  
  
"Werden Sie diese Änderung mit Ihrem archer Freund?"(5)  
  
"Reizen Sie mich nicht."(6)  
  
Wally protested again, "So when are you two gonna stop talking in Romany? You know I can't understand that."  
  
Two boys fought to keep strait faces as Dick answered, "Wally, that was German."  
  
"ButIthoughtyousaidyouwerespeakinginRomani."  
  
"I was. I switched languages."  
  
"...Oh."  
  
The boys returned to the video, where Kurt repeatedly complained about the graphics and voices being off, but everyone could tell he was still enjoying himself. [In this world I am a cartoon character. That means that if my holowatch fritzes out here, everyone will think I'm just a weirdo fanboy. Sweet!]  
  
*************************************************************  
  
(1) How well do you speak German  
  
(2) Well enough to talk over his head.  
  
(3) Do you think we should?  
  
(4) No. There is a faint line between teasing and torture. I would  
  
rather not cross that line.  
  
(5)Will that change with your archer friend?  
  
(6)Don't tempt me.  
  
Author's notes: translations are from Babelfish, and I don't know  
  
whether or not Dick really speaks German. Depending on where his  
  
circus toured, it is quite possible.  
  
________________________________________________________________  
  
Three hours later, after the boys finished watching Wally's tapes, Wally was ready to go on to the comic books.  
  
"Sowherearethey?AmIinanyofthem?Getthemoutalready,I'mdyin' overhere!"  
  
Dick said, "I guess there's time for Fleetfeet to look through them. We've still got five minutes before we have to leave for the Titan's meeting."  
  
Wally and Kurt answered in tandem, "What Titans meeting?"  
  
"The one we have the first Saturday of every month, Wally," Dick  
  
admonished.  
  
"Can I come?" Kurt asked.  
  
Please, canhe,canhe?Thisissooocool."  
  
"Sure. We better get going, or we'll be late."  
  
"But that doesn't start for another hour!"  
  
"Unlike _some_ people, I have to deal with traffic."  
  
"...Oh. So, Kurt, where's the comics?"  
  
"I'm not telling"  
  
"WHAT!!!Comeon,yougottatell."  
  
"Nein. If I'm going to the Titans meeting, I can watch you all react at the same time."  
  
"Spoilsport."  
  
"Ja. But I'm the one with the goods." 


	5. 5

Response to reviews:  
  
Tailfeather: Thats really cool. You've been a busy bee, all that yesterday. Ok, what is with the romany and the german? its makin my head spin.  
  
Actually, that's called getting my work together and posting on ff.net for the first time.  
  
OK, for the German and Romany bits: In the comics Kurt is raised in Germany as part of a Romany ethnic group. This means that he is part of both German and Romany cultures and speaks both languages fluently.  
  
Dick is known to be Rom, but there is little known about just how much the Rom culture has affected him. I chose to give him an understanding of the tongue, which may or may not be true in comic-verse. He toured with Haley's Circus as a child. The itinerary of the circus was never told, meaning they could have toured Europe, where Dick would have picked up a little of the native tongues.  
  
Raliena: This is brilliant!  
  
Write more!  
  
RAE  
  
I've got the whole Bat-verse part of the crossover done, but still have to post it. There may be a sequel if I get enough requests.  
  
MAIN FIC  
  
An hour later:  
  
Dick and Kurt walked in, while Wally fidgeted and walked with them for all of two seconds before racing ahead.  
  
Dick said, "He's getting better at slowing down."  
  
"That's better?"  
  
"He held pace with us long enough for me to see him as more than a blur when he wants to share the news about you coming with everyone. That's improvement for him."  
  
"...Oh."  
  
Dick and Kurt entered in time to catch the end of Wally's report.  
  
"...andthenwerememberedthemeeting,wellRobbiedidIforgot, soweleftandhereweare."  
  
Roy said, "OK. Now repeat that at a speed slow enough for the rest of us to understand."  
  
Before Wally could start over Dick and Kurt entered the room, with a certain loveable blue fuzzball drawing everyone's eyes...  
  
Roy was the first to respond. "Dick, I hate to admit it, but you were right. Those 'bots enhanced with Kryptonian tech really do look like the real deal. Did Wally talk you into the design?"  
  
"Hey! I'm not a robot!"  
  
"And it even sounds real. How'd ya do it?"  
  
Dick responded, "I didn't. Kurt is the real deal."  
  
"But he looks like something outta Wally's comic books."  
  
"He is from an alternate dimension."  
  
"Quit pullin' my strings."  
  
Kurt interrupted th argument, saying, "Ande asamasko kniga balta sina tala gado komnata. Isi kutka vordal?"(1)  
  
"Va."(2)  
  
::bamf::  
  
::splash::  
  
::bamf::  
  
"I bet he'll agree that a robot couldn't do that."  
  
A few minutes later, a very wet Roy rejoined the group.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
(1)In the comic books, the pool is right under this room. Is it  
  
there in this world?  
  
(2)Yes  
  
_______________________________________________________________  
  
The meeting was over and Kurt had pulled out the comics.  
  
"Bwa-ha-ha!"  
  
"Come on, Roy. Robbie's costume doesn't look that bad."  
  
"Ja. Everything looks bad in technicolor. Check out yours."  
  
"..."  
  
"This would make the _best_ blackmail material. That thing looks like some little kid trying on Daddy's boxers over his clothes." Wally added.  
  
"..."  
  
"Roy? Aren't ya gonna say anything?"  
  
"Wally. Shut. Up."  
  
"Robbie, would you call that a speech worthy of the Bat?"  
  
"No. He'd just give you a look that would make you wanna wet your pants."  
  
"Hey Kurt, can I get a copy of this?"  
  
"Nein."  
  
"Pleeeeease?"  
  
Robin, ever the peacemaker, said, "There's not really any point to this. Let's just drop it."  
  
After that everyone wandered off on their own. Most to train, while Roy declared to the world at large that after pulling an all-nighter chasing a particularly elusive drug ring, he was ready to hit the sack. Wally sought out Kurt to ask him once again about helping him prank Roy.  
  
"Ja, sure. He's being a jerk anyways. Wally, Has anyone ever shown you the more...creative uses of duct tape?"  
  
"...No?"  
  
"Heh. You're in for a treat."  
  
Ten minutes later:  
  
"Wally, why'd you get your camera?" Donna asked.  
  
"Kurt helped me set up the perfect Kodak moment with Roy."  
  
"Really? I've got to see this."  
  
Donna followed Wally into the common room, where Wally immediately began snapping pictures of the ceiling. There, held in place by duct tape, slept Roy. In addition to this the boys had made strategic use of what looked like whipped cream, peanut butter, honey, and some unidentifiable pink goo. With the flash going off in his face, Roy woke up. He attempted to start screaming at Wally, but apparently either Kurt or Wally was very good at making gags. Nothing but inarticulate, faint grunts could be heard, though the resulting red face improved the blackmail possibilities of the pictures tenfold. Both Wally and Kurt made good their escape before Donna could shame them into letting Roy down. Wally headed back to Central City, while Kurt bamfed down to catch a ride with Dick, who was in the process  
  
of leaving.  
  
At Dick's car:  
  
"Do I _want_ to know what you and Wally were planning?"  
  
"Nein."  
  
"...Okay. Let's go then. I've got the rest of the afternoon free, and it's been _forever_ since I've had a professional partner on the trapeze. We've got a rig in the cave. You game?"  
  
"Ja!"  
  
"Then let's go." 


	6. 6

After a long, semi-quiet ride back to Gotham, Dick and Kurt were down in the cave, doing warm-ups before getting on the trapeze rig.  
  
"So, Kurt, what were you called anyways, in your circus days?"  
  
"The Flying Demon. Everyone thought my looks were just a costume. The tail catches _really_ freaked people out."  
  
"No Kidding. I can't _wait_ to get up in the air with a proper performer again. I managed to convince Bruce to learn the tricks, but he's so much heavier tham me that he always has to be the catcher."  
  
"As I recall, that was the boring part."  
  
"I always felt like I was leaving him out of the fun. Heh. I still remember the first time I went up with him. He got into the position they have in the cartoons - all the weight on the knees, instead of looping his legs around the rope properly."  
  
"Good thing you corrected him. It would look pretty bad for Batman to be laid up for a fortnight because his own partner had taken out his knees."  
  
"He'd go out anyways."  
  
"...Oh."  
  
"Ready to go up?"  
  
"More than ready."  
  
Kurt and Dick ascended the trapeze rig, Kurt taking his place as the catcher first. They started off with a few simple summersaults, getting used to each others style. Soon the tricks started becoming more complex, graduating into twists and gigantic, almost cartwheeling turns. Soon Dick was confident enough of his partner's caliber to pull off the trick that had made him famous - his quadruple summersault. Kurt caught him more by reflex than anything else.  
  
"Whoa! What was that?"  
  
"My quad."  
  
"I've never seen that before."  
  
"I'm not surprised. In this world, at least, only two other people on the planet are capable of it."  
  
"I have a few tricks of my own."  
  
"Such as?"  
  
Kurt flipped up onto the bar and id a handstand on the still swinging trapeze, them abruptly took a nosedive, catching himself with his tail at the last moment."  
  
"Whoa! I wish I had a tail like that."  
  
"Doesn't everyone? Once they get over the screaming at the spaded tip part, anyways."  
  
On the boys continued, in a complicated series of nearly impossible twists and turns, forgetting everything but the joy of flying for the moment. It had been too long for both of them. Two boys, who all too often had problems bigger than their tender years lain on them, were free for the moment to play as only they could.  
  
After whiling away nearly an hour on the trapeze, both boys came  
  
down for dinner. Once again, Kurt's eating habits turned stomachs.  
  
"Was? You guys see worse than this on the streets every night."  
  
Dick answered, "Yeah, but that's not going on right in front of me. Autopsy reports during dinner I can handle. This is just disgusting. Turkey and whipped cream should not be mixed."  
  
"Let me get this straight. You can handle hearing about people getting shot at the table, but not my eating habits?"  
  
"Pretty much. Oh, and the most recent ones weren't gunshots. Killer Croc got out and started gutting people again."  
  
"I'll make a deal with you. You leave the autopsies alone, I leave the whipped cream off the turkey."  
  
"And leave it off the pickles?"  
  
"Ja."  
  
"Deal."  
  
About two seconds after the table was cleared Bruce started in on the weird autopsies from last night.  
  
"Seven victims were found torn open with what appeared to be animalistic claws. There was a human involved, however. Bloocy fingerprints were found around all corpses. No match was found in the police database. Witnesses claim to have seen a massive man with dirty blond hair entering the premises in each case..."  
  
"Sabertooth."  
  
"What?"  
  
"When I 'ported here, I thought I felt something drag itself here with me. I've seen him, and Logan told me his MO."  
  
"He's about seven feet tall, felinoid, has claws, and heals from his injuries in minutes. I haven't had enough experience with him to say anything more than that."  
  
"Good enough. Suit up, Dick. We're going on patrol."  
  
"Can I come?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Please? I'll be better at finding him than you."  
  
"Explain."  
  
"Sabertooth hates Logan and knows that Logan cares about me. Thus, I'll be his favorite target if he can get his claws on me."  
  
"You're a cartoon icon in uniform. You're not going out like that."  
  
Dick interjected, "We still have the plain black kevlar from that mission with Two-face. It would fit him, sans gloves and boots, if we cut a tail- hole."  
  
"He's not going out barefoot, barefaced, and barehanded."  
  
It was at this point that Alfred interjected, "Pardon me sirs. I took the liberty of preparing suitable accruements in the case of this event. With that he smoothly showed the others black gloves for hand and feet, as well as a zorro-like bandanna/mask piece.  
  
"So can I come on patrol?"  
  
Bruce walked off toward the grandfather clock(1)  
  
"Dick told Kurt, "That means yes."  
  
(1) In the stories this was a secret entrance to the cave. It did not work, but would swing over to open the entrance when wound to the time Bruce saw his parents killed in front of him. Not truly important, just an interesting look into the neuroses that is Batman. 


	7. 7

Kurt was coiled up behind the seats in the Batmobile in one of those positions that were extremely comfortable for him but would break the spine of any normal person who tried it. He was driving into the city with Batman and Robin, talking to Robin about his codename."  
  
"But you can't be Nightcrawler here!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You're a cartoon character. You'll have to pick a new codename."  
  
"Suggestions?"  
  
"How about Sulfer? You sure smell like it when you 'port."  
  
"Fair enough. I guess it will work until I can think up something better."  
  
With that last thought they entered the city proper. Batman had the radio tuned in to the police radio band, listening for where his help was needed. The Batmobile roared off to help. They parked a good two blocks from the disturbance, well into the shadows where the Batmobile would not be easily seen. Then all three took to the skies. Batman and Robin used d-cel lines while "Sulfer" galloped along the sides of buildings and leaped the gaps between them.  
  
When they got to the disturbance a police barricade was already in place and Police Commissioner Gordon was well back from the scene, near an abandoned alley where the vigilantes could easily hide their presence.  
  
"How are things in there?" Batman asked.  
  
"Not good. Two of the hostages are kids and one is a pregnant woman due it ten days. All exits have been cordoned off, but the gunmen have had time to dig themselves in. What is that?" Gordon pointed to two yellow, glowing orbs seemingly supported by nothing.  
  
"He's with me."  
  
"He?"  
  
"Sulfer."  
  
By this point Kurt had picked up on Batman's silent commands enough to know that he was wanted streetside. He dropped down, slightly behind and to one side of Batman. He was slightly surprised when Gordon seemed more curious than scared, even after he saw the spaded tail.  
  
A gunshot was fired within the warehouse. As Gordon turned to look at it Batman took to the shadows, and indicated that Kurt do the same. When Gordon turned back, both were out of sight.  
  
Kurt was the first one in to scope out the building. There were times when being able to scale sheer surfaces came in handy. A few long leaps and he high up on the outside of the building, peering through chinks between the warped, though thick and strong, boards. One man was bleeding badly and one of the children looked like a bullet had winged her. On top of all that, Kurt had been around enough women going into labor to realize what those small, supressed squeaks meant. This just got harder. There were only two traditional entrances into the building that weren't blockaded, both of which were guarded by two men with guns. The hostages were blindfolded and tied up. No help from that angle. Four men were up on the crates, watching the small, dingy windows that lined one wall of the warehouse. The windows were twenty feet up, but obviously these men  
  
considered themselves prepared for masked interference. They were smart enough to realize that making an entrance would take to much time and cause too much attention to be done. Too bad they hadn't counted on a teleporter.  
  
Kurt quietly leaped back outside to make his report. When he had finished describing what he had seen, he gave his idea for getting in.  
  
"There is one corner of the warehouse that none of the men are patroling. The next time the Commissioner uses the bullhorn, I could teleport us in. He would cover the sound of the teleport."  
  
A slight pause. "Done."  
  
A few minutes later, they were inside. It was almost pathetically easy to take out the first five patrollers. After that, things got a little harder.  
  
"Max isn't responding. We have company." Goon #1 said.  
  
Of course, when he said this, it also drew everyone's eyes to him, and away from one of the guarded doors. This gave Robin and Sulfer plenty of time to knock out the two guards and haul them out of sight.  
  
At this point, Goon #2 said, "Guys! Blade and Kev aren't on the door anymore."  
  
Of course, following human nature, everyone had to look for a moment. Batman took out two more men while their backs were turned. At this point, the others "wised up" and formed a circle, each man searching a different direction. A pity they didn't tell anyone to look up. Three shadows descended to the center of the circle, and it was all over. As I said, a _little_ harder.  
  
All three quietly set to releasing the hostages, when a new problem arose. The pregnant woman started screaming. Her water had broken. At that moment, two tremendoud crashes were heard. The men had obviously rigged the boxes near the two open warehouses to collapse if someone didn't fix the booby traps every few minutes. There was no way they could haul the woman outside via the window. She was giving birth right there, right then. 


	8. 8

Batman kept to the shadows, and someone who had not spent his whole life watching people's reactions and spent the day around him would never have caught the slightly panicked look on his face. Kurt was the first to react.  
  
"And what is your name?" Kurt was careful to try to hide his accent, knowing full well the reaction he would get later from Batman if he failed to do so.  
  
"Liz."  
  
"Well, Liz, I know I may not look quite normal, but I'm here to  
  
help."  
  
"I know. My sister always told me that the Batman and his kin aren't human, but they are here to protect us."  
  
[What do you know. I didn't have to talk her down from a screaming fit.]  
  
"Okay, Liz, you just settle down and that baby will be out in no  
  
time."  
  
One hour later:  
  
"Okay, just keep on pushing, he's almost out. One more good push  
  
should do it..."  
  
"WAAAAAAAAAA!"  
  
"Congratulations, Liz, you have a beautiful baby boy."  
  
"Oh, he's so beautiful..." She paused, and looked at Kurt. "What do they call you?"  
  
"Sulfer."  
  
"Sulfer, huh. I'll call him Sullie, after you."  
  
"I'm touched."  
  
A glare from the shadows kept Kurt from saying anything more. The men that had been working on opening one of the doors finally got through the last of the boxes with a crash. Everyone turned toward them for and instant. When they turned back, the three masked figures were gone.  
  
The rest of the night passed uneventfully. A few muggers, a few petty robbers, nothing exciting to find, or at least nothing where the action was still present. They did find three corpses raggedly gutted. Kurt fought the urge to lose his dinner, but the others seemed to be used to such things. Disgusted, yes, but not surprised. In the morning, instead of going to bed after an all-nighter like _normal_ people, they beamed up to the JLA watchtower with Forge's gizmo in search of answers to what had brought Kurt to this universe.  
  
They met Flash and the Atom, who had been filled in on Kurt's predicament and offered to help. They put Kurt and the machine through tests and used equipment whose purpose Kurt couldn't even guess at, and at the end of three hours of work, came up with an explanation. Flash answered for both of them.  
  
"Something else was dragged to our dimension with you. There's about three hundred pounds of mass unaccounted for. Until we find that, all our computations will be too far off to be useful."  
  
Kurt answered, "So until we catch Sabretooth, I'm stuck here."  
  
"Sabretooth?"  
  
"Your missing mass. He's currently wanted for murder in Gotham. Don't ask for details. You don't want them. Oh, and when we get him up here? I'd suggest some very heavy restraints and enough tranqs to take out a blue whale."  
  
"You're right. I don't want to know."  
  
On the other side of the watchtower:  
  
Wally was in the kitchen with Green Arrow and Speedy, telling them about his meeting Kurt.  
  
"Yeah, and I knew he was furry and could teleport and stuff, but they never said he knew how to make the best meals. He was putting together his waffles weird, and I copied him. Never thought jelly and pickles would go that good together..."  
  
His audience looked slightly ill, not due to his comments so much as the contents of his current sandwich. Currently he had a fried egg, jelly, pickles, mustard, peanut butter, turkey, and bacon. Kurt walked in and saw his sandwich. Green Arrow saw him and said, "Plese tell him he's doing that wrong. He won't listen to me."  
  
Kurt looked at Wally and said, "He's right, you know. You forgot the sourkraut, radishes, and chocolate sauce." Green Arrow's face suddenly matched his costume as he fled from the room. Speedy stuck around to watch Kurt copy Wally's technique, adding sour cream along with everything else. He watched in horrified fascination as both ate their sandwiches with every sign of enjoyment.  
  
Kurt had found a lounge area and decided to take a quick catnap on the couch in an attempt to catch up from his all nighter. He had changed into civvies before beaming up, so the stiff kevlar would not be a problem getting to sleep. When he woke up his fur felt...different. He opened his eyes and looked down. Someone had smeared syrup all through his fur! This was going to take forever to get out. They'd even taken off everything but his pants in order to get greater coverage. He took a quick look below the beltline. At least they hadn't poured any syrup down his pants. There, in the middle of the mess on his chest sat a note. It read, "For your surprise dipping yesterday. Roy."  
  
Of course, this meant war. 


	9. 9

This was too good to be true. Roy had obviously had a long night himself, and had fallen asleep in the meeting room. Kurt watched in hiding for a good ten minutes, then walked into the room, still watching Roy for any signs of consciousness. He poked Roy once. No reaction. He was really out of it. And Kurt had seen where the permanent markers and bleach were kept.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Kurt was done. He had taken pity on Roy and only used Dick's batclan semi-permanent markers. Semi-permanent as in the clan had a solution that would take the marks right off. Pity that Roy didn't know the proper solution. He had scrawled creatively all over Roy's face and back. He might get Dick's help cleaning off his face, but Kurt was careful to give him no reason to even suspect checking his back. There he had scrawled a bullseye and a few choice comments. It was coming into water balloon season, after all. He had also emptied half of the remaining syrup into Roy's quiver. Might as well give him a hint at who was responsible for his disfigurement. Also, red clothing + bleach streaks = red and pink clothing. Kurt had considered dying his hair too, but didn't know how to dye it green with the material at hand. It would have been amusing to let his hair match Green Arrow's costume. He had to make due with the paint. Kurt was personally amazed that the smell of his treatments didn't wake Roy up. Something was missing...feathers! Roy had obviously been fletching some new arrows, and Kurt knew enough about archery to know which pile was the pile of reject feathers. He took it and the remaining syrup to turn Roy into a chicken. That should teach Roy to leave his fur alone.  
  
Hypersensitive hearing comes in handy at times, such as hearing someone approaching in time to get away from the scene of the crime. Kurt fled.  
  
Robin and Green Arrow entered the room together. Both took in Roy's "new look." Ollie stared silently while Dick quietly left the room. He knew once Ollie regained his senses he would ask who had done that, and he didn't want to rat out Kurt. They were Rom, and Rom stood by each other.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
J'onn J'onnz approached Kurt. He told Kurt, "Batman asked me to take you for the day. He and Robin have several meetings to go to and did not wish you to be alone."  
  
[Translation: Batman didn't trust me not to blow up the house so he called in a babysitter.]  
  
"Okay. Where are we going?"  
  
"A baseball game. Since the Red Sox aren't playing today, I thought we'd catch one of the college games at DePaul University."(1) "Sounds good."  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Kurt had stopped by the concessions stand before he went anyplace else. He'd loaded up on junk and was preparing to take his seat when he heard a familiar, unwanted fizzle. His holowatch breaking down. Kurt frantically tried to hide. He didn't want a mass panic. A blue fuzzy demon in only black sunglasses, tank top, and shorts was likely to cause a riot. Despite all his efforts, he was spotted by three college age men. He waited for the screams.  
  
"So, you've got to be a huge Demons fan. Love the costume."  
  
"Was?"  
  
"The DePaul Blue Demons. With all the time you must have put into making that costume, you must be a huge fan."  
  
"Uh...yeah."  
  
"What? You expected me to think that that was au naturale? Don't be ridiculous."  
  
Kurt continued on his way, drawing compliments and envious stares at his "costume." To go out in public without the holowatch was a dream come true. When he got back to his proper dimension he had to see if the Demons were in his own dimension.  
  
That night on Chicago's five o'clock news there was a fan clip of the Demons game, showing a nameless high school boy in an elaborate demon costume doing some kind of weird dance in the stands.  
  
(1) It is a real place, and a real team  
  
If anyone wants a pic that originally went with this section of the fic, e- mail me and I'll send it to you. 


	10. 10

{Telepathic conversation}, [thoughts]. Got it?  
  
Kurt had danced in the stands for the rest of the game. It was so much fun to be out in all his furry glory, and not have anyone screaming. At the end of the game, J'onn had found him and told him it was time to go.  
  
"But this is so much fun! I'd never have a chance to do this at home without getting shot. I have _got_ to find out if this team exists in my dimension."  
  
{As a green man from Mars, don't you think I know about  
  
stereotypes?}  
  
{Ja.}  
  
[I wonder how many people have tried to shoot him as an alien invader come to do unspeakable acts to them?]  
  
{I've lost count.}  
  
{I didn't think I was projecting. Sorry.}  
  
{For what? You cannot change your thoughts.}  
  
[Deep.]  
  
{Kal(1) has called me in to help him with a...situation. You'll have to stay with Hal(2) for a while. My apologies.}  
  
{No biggie.}  
  
Soon Kurt and J'onn were at Coast City. They had stopped by the back door and Kurt had his holowatch off. Better to let the Lantern know what he was getting into. Hal called them into the house. Talking for a while before he turned around to look. He stared.  
  
"He looks like a bobo. I thought you said he said he looked like a demon, J'onn."  
  
"He did."  
  
"What's a bobo?" Kurt asked.  
  
"The Liharu equivalent of a teddy bear."  
  
"So I look like an alien teddy bear."  
  
"Basically."  
  
"Cool"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nobody tried to burn a teddy bear at the stake."  
  
"Um...there might be a slight problem."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Rhaulen was supposed to stop by here tonight with his daughter, Eri. They're Liharu."  
  
"So the little girl's gonna walk in and see a living teddy bear."  
  
"Basically, yeah. And they can see right through holotechnology, so the watch won't work."  
  
"Cool."  
  
*************************************************************  
  
(1) Superman. Kal-el is his Kryptonian name.  
  
(2) Green Lantern  
  
An hour later, the doorbell rang and two individuals who were unusually covered up for present weather conditions entered. In an instant it became obvious why. When cloaks were dropped thery stood two vaguely felinoid beings. Hal had instructed Kurt to stay hidden until he could have a word with his guests.  
  
"Rhalen, Eri. A pleasure as always. I have another guest right now - don't go, he knows - and I'd like to give you a little heads up. I remember what happened last time you saw an alien that looked like something out of your mythology in my house. It took me a month to get rid of the smell from that."  
  
"So what does he look like?"  
  
"Kurt? Come down here."  
  
Kurt walked in, displaying one of the "I'm a harmless fuzzball" postures that had sometimes stood him in good stead. Both Liharu stood and stared. After a moment Eri came closer, then reached out and touched him.  
  
"A bobo! A real live bobo! Daddy, you told be they didn't exist. Can we take him home with us?" 


	11. 11

"A bobo! A real live bobo! Daddy, you told be they didn't exist. Can we take him home with us?"  
  
[Better than most reactions I've gotten, at least.]  
  
"No, princess, he's a living being and has the right to make his own decisions."  
  
"But Dadeeee..."  
  
"No."  
  
"Okay...Mr. Bobo, will you play with me?"  
  
"Ja."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do ya speak somethin' other than English?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Will ya teach me?"  
  
"Alright."  
  
Eri ran off to her father. "Daddy, daddy! The nice bobo's gonna teach me how to speak Belent!"  
  
"What?"  
  
Hal interjected, "That's the language bobos are supposed to speak in their culture."  
  
"But I was just going to teach her German."  
  
"So teach her German. Belent is an imaginary language anyways. She'll never know the difference."  
  
"So, Eri, what do you want to learn how to say?"  
  
"Candy!"  
  
"Süßigkeit."  
  
"Suh-beeg-keet."  
  
"Close enough. What else?"  
  
"Do you want to play?"  
  
"Möchten Sie spielen?"  
  
"Moe-chan zee spell-an? And do you wanna?"  
  
"Ja."  
  
"What does ja mean?"  
  
"It means yes."  
  
"Oh. Ok."  
  
"Can we play jawaku?"  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I play it all the time with Daddy. He gets down on the ground and gives me a jawaku-back ride."  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Too many people have treated me like an animal to have me do that."  
  
"Then they're waki-heads. How about tumblies?"  
  
"How do you play tumblies?"  
  
"Mr. Lantern said that earth has a game like that. I think he called it akerrobaddiks or something like that. You try to do twisty stuff with your body and show your friend how to do stuff."  
  
"Acrobatics?"  
  
"Yeah! That's what he said."  
  
The next two hours were spent with Kurt teaching Eri increasingly intense tumbling routines. She was agile enough to teach him a few things as well. Kurt slowly realized that he would probably wear out before her. The weather wasn't helping him any. It had started growing hot and muggy, and there was a charge to the air. It started raining outside. Eri cringed, then clung to Kurt like a wet limpet.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"What's what?"  
  
"The water falling out of the sky. What's making it do that? Make it stop. I'm scared."  
  
"It's just rain. It's perfectly natural, nothing to be scared of."  
  
Eri loosened her grip and considered letting go.  
  
BOOM. ruuUUUmble. scrEEEEEEee.  
  
Eri clung tighter than before, accidentally getting her claws into Kurt a little bit.  
  
[Great. The child has never seen rain, and now she gets stuck in the middle of a thunderstorm.]  
  
Eri started sniffling softly, but as the noise continued it soon grew into a full scale wail. Hal appeared dragging Rhaulen behind him, who seemed to be about ready to start hyperventilating.  
  
BOOOOOOOOM. rUUUUUUUmble.  
  
That one had to be within half a mile of the house. The flash lit up the whole room for an instant. Kurt noticed that Eri was no longer clinging to him. He turned to see her and her father clinging to each other. Both were shaking badly. Eri was still crying and Rhaulen looked like he was trying very hard to be brave for her and trying not to wet his pants.  
  
Hal looked outside, then looked at the Liharu. He tried to talk to them.  
  
"Rhalen..."  
  
"Rhalen..."  
  
"RHALEN!"  
  
"...yes?"  
  
"It's just a thunderstorm. They happen all the time here. Nothing to be scared of."  
  
"Then they can't hurt anyone?" Rhaulen looked like he was stuck  
  
between fear and relief.  
  
"Only if you go stand out in the middle of an open field or  
  
something. We're safe here."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Rhaulen calmed down a little. Then he tensed slightly, as he thought of something. "Kurt, is he right, or does the fearless man gloss over the danger yet again?"  
  
"He's right."  
  
As the evening went on, both Liharu finally calmed down, though it took most of the night before they stopped jumping at the sounds from the storm outside. Dinner was a great success, and after dinner things calmed down as soon as Kurt convinced Eri to stop trying to pretty him up with ribbons and glitter. As Rhaulen left he appeared to have a brainstorm.  
  
"Hal, there's a few guys that are always going on about how fearless they are. What exactly is and isn't safe in a thunderstorm? I'd love to take them down to one and watch them jump out of their skins."  
  
Hal gave details, then added, "but if you really want to make it good, stop down withing about half a mile of the Northland antenna. It's isolated enough that none will see you, and the antenna will attract any lightning so you'll have no worries about it hitting you as long as you don't wear any metal."  
  
The thundersorm had passed, though it continued raining. Hal and Kurt lured the Liharu outside, though both were still scared of the rain hitting them for a little while. Before they left, though, Kurt had Eri jumping in mud puddles. 


	12. 12

In the morning Hal told Kurt, "I'll be off to the Watchtower, then work soon. You want to stay here or have me take you to the Titans Tower?  
  
"Titans tower."  
  
"Ok. Off we go."  
  
Hal took Kurt with him trough the JLA teleportation system, then passes him through to the Tower while he went on moniter duty.  
  
At the Titan's Tower:  
  
"Hello? Anyone here?" Kurt called.  
  
"I am," a quiet voice answered.  
  
"Come on out."  
  
The voice entered. It was Garth.  
  
"You sound sad," Kurt stated. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Just memories."  
  
"Do you want to talk or should I leave?"  
  
"It's my birthday."  
  
"...congratulations?"  
  
"Every year I can't help but think about what happened when I was born. My people saw my eyes and left me on a reef to die. They think purple eyes are a curse."  
  
"Believe it or not, I know what you're going through."  
  
"How could you?"  
  
"When I was a baby, men took one look at me and called me a demon. I have to spend my life hidden behind an illusion because people fear what I look like."  
  
"Has anyone ever tried to kill you for it?"  
  
"Ja. Mein mutter threw me in a river to drown, and the village next to the one I grew up in tried to burn me at the stake."  
  
"So you do know. Why do they think you look like a demon? My understanding of human culture is somewhat limited."  
  
"Digrade legs, tridactyl hands, pointed ears, spaded tail, fangs, not to mention the smell accompanying a 'port."  
  
"It's kind of nice to know there's someone around who knows what  
  
it's like to be an outcast."  
  
At this point Roy walked in.  
  
"I was going to enact some nefarious revenge, but there's times you just can't. And Garth, What are you talking about with that outcast bit? People are always freaked by the different. Imagine growing up as the only redhead in a Navaho tribe. I know the outcast bit. I never did fit in. Pity the others don't know what it is to not belong."  
  
Next Dick entered.  
  
"What are you talking about? High society has a rule about people: accept them according to how much money they have. You can imagine the responses to the poor adopted gypsy boy. I can't count how many people looked on my background and treated me like a mangy street dog or whispered to the maids to keep an eye on the silver while I was around. They still do."  
  
"No way. High society thinks that Mr. Perfect Example is going to make off with the silver?"  
  
"Yep. They look at where I come from, not who I am. All they see is a charity case that Bruce decided to take on."  
  
All sat quietly thinking for a few minutes. Then Dick said, "Kurt, we've gotta get going. It's not a good idea to make Batman wait. And they left.  
  
On the way back Bruce called Dick and told him it would be another hour before he was needed back. Dick had a brainstorm and called Wally to meet him and Kurt for lunch. Wally ran to catch up to them and they met at a place called Vince's for lunch.  
  
Kurt asked, "Why are we stopping here?"  
  
"Because with you and the running stomach eating on my tab, I figured it might be a good thing to get the food cheap."  
  
"If Wally's the running stomach, what am I?"  
  
"The 'porting stomach."  
  
Wally asked, "This looks expensive. Why do you say it will be  
  
cheap."  
  
"Vince has a bet on the biggest roast and the meal to go with it. If you can get it all down in one sitting and not barf it up, it's free."  
  
"Whydidn'tyoutellmeaboutthissooner?"  
  
"Because you'd come here every other day and drive him out of business. Since the restaurant is shutting down within the week, I figured it would be safe to take you now."  
  
The entire restaurant stared as both Wally and Kurt managed to down a five pound roast and all the generous fixings that went with it. Dick still had to quietly promise to buy them dessert if they went someplace else. He, at least, was wary of all those watching.  
  
Wally had left and both Kurt and Dick were headed back to the cave. It was getting dark and would soom be time for them to leave on patrol. A few minutes later, all three masked men were in the Batmobile on the way into town. Once in town it was pathetically easy to find Sabretooth. They followed the screams and found him kneeling over a young girl who, from her injuries, would probably not survive the night. Sabretooth looked as if he was going to continue hurting the girl, then he turned slightly and sniffed.  
  
"Ah, the runt's charge. But he isn't around to protect you now. I'm going to have fun with this. With that he charged.  
  
Sabretooth was so intent on Kurt that he didn't even notice the darts that were piercing him, though he did start slowing down. It took seven darts before he collapsed and was bundled up to the Watchtower.  
  
Batman quietly stood by Sabretooth, just in case he woke up. Robin was the only one who saw him slip Sabretooth more tranqs every time his lifesigns got too strong. Atom and Flash, tag-teaming with the new information obtained from Sabretooth, had the information they needed to send Kurt on his way within an hour. Kurt once again 'ported with Sabretooth. This time he could actually see where he was going. He saw the welcome to Bayville sign before he and Sabretooth were torn apart.  
  
Sabretooth continued on in the right direction, while Kurt spun off on another tangent. Once again he felt something pulled into the 'port with him. The something, or rather, someone, had pasty white skin and what looked like black tatoos around both glowing, red eyes. He thought he heard the sound of a motorcycle in there somewhere. And then he emerged alone, again. Kurt looked up. He was in some kind of...space station? He saw stars  
  
through distant viewing ports. And there were creatures of every  
  
description walking about. Some had turned to stare at his abrupt entrance. And then the strain from Kurt's 'port caught up to him, and he knew no more. 


End file.
